The sky was clear, the sun was shining, and the sea was calm. The fishermen gathered near the shore, emptying their fishing boats of fish and pearls after a strenuous trip in the depths of the sea. Their families and small children were waiting for them, playing and having fun near the shore, some of them practicing swimming.
When some of them were about to drown, the dolphin hurried and rescued them. Sometimes, groups of frightening octopus swarms would visit the shore. When they approached the shore, the children would run away. The children would approach the dolphin and offer him sugarcane sticks and other candies. Whenever the dolphin approached the shore, the children would hurry and practice the hobby of swimming, with smiles on their faces due to the presence of the dolphin, feeling safe near him.
Whenever the octopus approached the shore, the children became afraid and ran far away. The dolphin tried to keep the octopus away from the shore so as not to cause them annoyance and fear. The octopus gathered a number of his friends, refusing the dolphin’s request to stay away from the shore. The dolphin also gathered a number of dolphins to stand by his side, and the situation became a kind of challenge. The dolphin asked one of the fishermen in the sea to give him a rope. The dolphin held it, and the other dolphins surrounded the octopus members with the rope.
They wrapped the rope over their strong arms. Whenever they tried to get rid of it, the rope became more wrapped around them, and they found themselves in a difficult position. Then the dolphins dragged them to the shore. When they felt distress and danger befalling them, one of them said: Leave us, we will depart and not return to the shore. We cannot live outside water. The dolphin told them: I do not want to see you on the shore again, and if you attempt to return, your end will come. The children rejoiced at what the dolphins had done in keeping the octopus group away without return, and their feeling of comfort and safety was truly great. The dolphin is indeed man’s friend.
From the stories of Kalila and Dimna…